


Reconciliation

by Dazzledfirestar



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spoilers, Angst, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers, Frottage, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2014-02-04
Packaged: 2018-01-11 03:45:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1168285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazzledfirestar/pseuds/Dazzledfirestar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's amazing how almost dying can bring about a change in perspective. Especially in the people that care about you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconciliation

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this year's [trope bingo card](http://dazzledfirestar.dreamwidth.org/141960.html#cutid1). Prompt: Holiday Fic. Also written for Porn Battle 15, AND my [porn table](http://dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com/151061.html) for avengers_tables, prompt "sleepy sex".
> 
> Yes, this feels like cheating. LOL

Medical leave. If there was one thing he hated more than anything in the world, it was medical leave. But no matter how many times he told the doctors and nurses that no, getting his car blown up from under him was not actually enough to warrant any time off, they weren’t willing to listen. 

He tried to treat it like a holiday but knowing there was still a guard on him 24/7 wasn’t helping.

It wasn’t until he was absolutely not limping through his front door with an armful of groceries and completely unable to get to his sidearm—which admittedly was a huge mistake given recent events—that he realized maybe it was time to take a few days without thinking about work.

At least the man standing in front of him, taking the groceries from him seemed to think so. Of course, the first few hours of Phil yelling at him weren’t exactly a picnic, but he’d earned that and it was best, he figured to get it all out at once. It wasn’t until his balance got a little questionable that Phil’s voice broke. “Jesus, Nick…”

“I’m okay.” He sighed and sat down on the nearest chair. “No reason for you to stop being angry about everything.”

“The hell it isn’t.” Phil’s hand was on his knee a moment later. He almost jumped it surprised him so much. “When Natasha tracked me down and told me what happened…” He sighed and shook his head. “I got a glimpse of what it must have been like. I… even as angry as I am about everything, I would have done anything to make sure—“

“I know.”

“I know you do. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

“Doesn’t really change anything though.”

Phil looked up at him, slowly categorizing every bump and bruise and cut. “We need to talk.”

And a few hours later, he found his ass packed off to a tiny beach house, explaining himself on a small porch overlooking the ocean, huddled under a large blanket against the cool wind whipping around them. But Phil was close again and he wasn’t about to look that gift horse in the mouth. And when Phil lifted his head and kissed him, Nick couldn’t be sure if it was real or just the concussion causing him to hallucinate.

Either way, he didn’t want it to stop.

They kept on like that for days. Talking it all out because there was literally nothing else to do in the tiny house. Phil insisted that Nick take the bed because… well, he hadn’t been caught in any explosions recently. Nick managed to argue right up until his body betrayed him and exhaustion kicked in. 

It wasn’t until the fifth night and Nick stopping half way up the stairs because his knee had decided to give up on him—again—and Phil had helped him into bed that he reached out and caught Phil’s wrist. He hadn’t even really thought it through before he spoke. “Stay.”

“Nick…”

“I’m not saying anything will happen. But your neck has to be killing you after sleeping on that couch for almost a week now.” He tugged again at Phil’s wrist. “So just… stay.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Phil sat on the edge of the bed and Nick sat up, not letting go of his wrist. “I’m just… not sleeping well.”

“I know how that is.”

“You need rest.”

“So do you.” Nick let go of his wrist and lay down. “We can draw a line down the middle if you want.”

Phil frowned and sighed. “Don’t be glib.”

“Don’t be stubborn. We can share the bed without it meaning anything.”

“You don’t really believe that.”

“No.” Nick took a deep breath. “I have no right to ask you to stay. I am well aware of that and you have every right to want to keep me out. But I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I don’t want you back here. That I don’t want to help fix what I fucked up in the first place.”

Phil swallowed hard. Nick tried not to watch the muscles in his throat work before he spoke. “I told you. I get why you started down that path. I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same when…” He reached over, taking Nick’s hand and tentatively lacing their fingers together. “I thought… even through the anger and everything else… it wasn’t the answers that I would have missed if—“

“I know that too.”

“I just don’t know where we’re going now.”

Nick smiled tentatively. “We’re going to sleep right now, Cheese.”

“What did I say about being glib?”

“When did that ever stop me?”

Phil stared at him for a long moment. Nick had pretty much convinced himself that he was going to get up and sleep on the couch again when he finally slid under the covers and took up position beside him. “Okay. We can sleep…”

“Alright.” Nick rolled over, taking the pressure off his sore side. That the position meant he was facing Phil was secondary, but still not a bad coincidence. “Night, Phil.”

“Night.” 

He expected to wake up to a nightmare, either his own—fire, pain, gunshots, the world flipping upside down—or Phil’s. What he didn’t expect was Phil’s voice in his ear, soft, heavy with sleep. “You awake?”

“Mhmm. What’s wrong?” He opened his eye slowly, adjusting to the low light in the room. It couldn’t be earlier than maybe 3am.

“Nothing. I don’t know.” Another sleepy sigh left him, but the warm press of his lips against Nick’s skin was unmistakable. “Should have known…”

Nick forced himself to pull back enough to get his fingers under Phil’s chin and tilt his face up. “Should have known what?”

Phil kissed him, slowly deepening it and pulling him closer until Nick wrapped his arms around him. “Missed you…”

“I missed you too.” He found himself nuzzling Phil’s neck. “But…”

“No, come on. Just…” He sighed and bumped their noses together. It was familiar, warm… like it had been before. “Can we talk about it in the morning?”

“Done talking tonight?”

“For the week, actually.” Phil’s hands skimmed down his chest. “I just want something to be like it used to be.” He smiled. “And talking’s not getting there.”

“Okay.” Nick pressed another kiss to his lips, hoping this wasn’t another dream where things weren’t shit and the world wasn’t falling apart and they were still good together. “Okay.” 

Every move was slow, almost lazy but deliberate. Like the sleep that still clung to the corners of both of them wasn’t going to let go. Like it wanted to enjoy this as much as they did. He couldn’t curb the groan that left him as his cock slid against Phil’s and they both moved to yank down their boxers and pajama pants to get more. More contact. More comfort. More of each other. 

The deep languid kisses were only interrupted by the occasional gasp or moan. Their rhythm didn’t speed up, even as Nick reached between them and wrapped his hand around their cocks, stroking slowly. Phil’s hand joined his, their fingers lacing together. “Nick…” He sounded wrecked as he breathed Nick’s name against his lips.

“I know.” He groaned into the next kiss, a shiver working down his spine as his climax neared. “Me too.” Nick nipped gently at Phil’s bottom lip and that seemed to be enough to break Phil’s rhythm. He gasped and trembled, pressing as close to Nick as he could, with their hands still trapped between them. The splash of warmth against his hand and stomach was enough to set Nick off a moment later, moaning deeply into the kiss as he came.

The kisses got lazier as they lay there, sleep closing in around them. “We should clean up.” Phil laughed softly but didn’t pull away.

“Mm. Later.”

He laughed again but he kissed Nick back. “Aren’t we a little old to wake up sticky?”

“You mind?”

“No… not if you’re making coffee in the morning while I’m in the shower.”

Nick smiled. This felt normal. This felt the way it used to. He didn’t want to push his luck but the idea that this was just for tonight was hanging over his head and impossible to ignore. “Am I allowed to join you once coffee’s going?”

The look in Phil’s eyes said they still had a lot of work to do to fix things but he smiled sleepily and tucked his head up against Nick’s shoulder. “I think that’d be acceptable.”


End file.
